Congressmen want probe of Unocal bid -WSJ

[maddezmom]

NEW YORK/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Two U.S. congressmen have asked the Bush administration to review and possibly block any effort by China's CNOOC Ltd. to acquire Unocal Corp., The Wall Street Journal reported.

The move comes amid reports that CNOOC, China's third largest oil group, was set to announce a counter-offer to trump California-based Chevron Corp's $16-billion bid for Unocal.

Richard Pombo and Duncan Hunter, Republican congressmen from California, urged President Bush to exercise his authority under a 1988 federal law to begin a review by the Committee on Foreign Investments in the U.S., an inter-agency panel chaired by Treasury Secretary John Snow, the Journal said.

After the review, Bush could block the deal, although such a move would be highly unusual, Sunday's Journal report said.

~snip~
more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050620/pl_nm/energy_cnooc_dc;_

[Dover]

1. Boy this 'free market' stuff sure looks alot like protectionism.

I guess the U.S.'s outrage that Russia, Venezuela and others wouldn't allow their oil companies to fall into 'foreign' hands, is sort of hypocritical, huh? Because this sure seems like a nationalist stance.

[fasttense]

2. Aren't they afraid of pissing off our biggest lender?

I mean, what if China decides to sell off our debt? The borrower is the slave to the lender.

[UpInArms]

3. isn't part of the plan to tranfer assets to China?

President's uncle shares Bush family ties to China

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2002/02/19/usat-prescott-bush.htm

CHICAGO — When President Bush arrives in Beijing on Thursday, he'll embrace a policy that's something of a family tradition.

Bush's approach centers on promoting U.S.-China economic ties. That's a course favored not only by his father, the first President Bush, but also by his uncle, Prescott Bush Jr., a longtime acquaintance of Chinese President Jiang Zemin.

The Bush family's ties to China go back to 1974, when President Nixon named George Bush ambassador to China. The college-age George W. Bush spent two months in China visiting his parents during his father's two-year stint.

Seven years after his brother left the ambassadorial post, Prescott Bush made his first trip to China. He later joined with Japanese partners in 1988 to build a golf course in Shanghai, the first in China. He met Jiang, who was then the mayor of Shanghai.

Prescott Bush, now 79, also developed a close working relationship with Rong Yiren, a former trade minister and vice president, who in 1993 introduced Bush to a group of Chinese business leaders as "an old friend." In 2000, Forbes publications reported that Rong, who has retired from government, was the richest man in China.

...more...

http://www.usccc.org/newhome/overview10.asp

The United States of America-China Chamber of Commerce (USCCC) is a not-for-profit, bi-national membership organization dedicated to developing increased U.S.-China trade and investment activities by assisting American and Chinese companies, professionals and the general public to better understand the business environments and cultural traditions relevant to successfully doing business in both countries.
The USCCC conducts a wide range of activities - such as seminars, conferences, workshops, executive briefings, trade missions and networking events - to identify the technological, economic, financial, demographic and cultural trends that are critical for successful economic development between the U.S. and China.

...more...


President George H. W. Bush, Siva Yam and Bush's Brother Prescott Bush


His Excellency, Premier Zhu Rongji and Prescott Bush, Chairman (retired) of US-China Chamber of Commerce

[NashVegas]

4. If This Company Buys Unocal

They'll have access to all kinds of interesting documents re: Afghanistan, won't they? Documents that will eventually fall into Chinese government hands, I'd imagine.